


Lightning Strike

by Paper0wl



Series: Rod and Shield [13]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural
Genre: Coulson would totally call her, Episode: s01e09 Repairs, Ford says dragged to Hell, The devil has a daughter, she's an Avenger
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 20:47:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4152378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Paper0wl/pseuds/Paper0wl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coulson's latest mission involves a ghost who claims he's being dragged to hell.</p><p>Having the devil's daughter on speed dial is surprisingly helpful for that sort of thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lightning Strike

**Author's Note:**

> The mess that was Phase 2 has been reworked and most of Phase 3 is plotted. Phase 3 is going to be a nightmare to write. Enjoy the continuation of Phase 2 while author rips her hair out over Phase 3.

Hannah clutched at Agent May's hand as the other woman dragged her out of her shielded room (cage) on the plane and out into the dark forest. "What are you going to do?" she asked desperately. She had thought God was punishing her for the particle accelerator accident. Maybe Skye was right about God and love or maybe she wasn’t, but it did turn out her problem wasn’t God.

 Turned out it was actually the ghost of the man who had died, looking for revenge. But that didn’t mean she wasn’t still cursed. She just wanted this to  _end_.

 "Fix the problem."

 If being used as bait would keep anyone else from getting hurt, Hannah would accept that as penance.

 Even without crazy accidents caused by stalker ghosts, an abandoned barn in the woods at night was foreboding. More so, when the incorporeal form of Tobias Ford showed up and attacked the agent. Hannah didn't know what was supposed to happen, but May clearly didn’t have the upper hand against someone who was not entirely there.

 “Tell him I won’t hurt you,” May ordered.

 She didn’t know what that would do for a ghost who had been haunting her for months, but, “Tobias, wait, she’s a friend.”

 Amazing, Ford stopped and looked at her. “Hannah.”

 “You have to stop. Please.”

 At that moment, a bolt of lightning shot horizontally across the barn, striking Ford in the chest and knocking him down. May struggled back to her feet to face the new threat.

 The black-haired woman ignored both Hannah and May to walk over to Ford's side. The ghost swung at her, but she simply stepped aside and caught his arm, using his momentum to drag him to the ground, arm tucked against his back. "You need some serious help, my friend." With that she drew a sword from her sleeve and – folded it over into a circle? Hannah would have sworn the woman had drawn a sword, but she used it to handcuff Ford, so that couldn't be right.

 "Who are you?" Agent May demanded.

 "Friend of Phil's," the woman replied, hauling Ford to his feet. "I have the dubious honor of being the Alien Energy Expert, and have something of a specialty where alternate dimensions are concerned."

 Ford half-faded out to a murky swirl of smoke.

 Lightning spawned on the woman's arms, spreading to Ford and forcing the smoke to re-assume physical form.

 May's eyebrows shot up. "You have this under control, I take it . . . Orion?" Hannah's eyes widened. She knew about the heroes who saved New York. That battle was half the reason why there was such an increased interest in advanced sciences in the past couple of years.

 The woman nodded. "Smart. But Phil always picks the smart ones, whether or not Clint would agree."

 "I heard you were on Asgard."

 Orion shrugged as best as she could while maintaining a grip on Ford. "I was. But Loki wasn't comfortable staying."

 May twitched.

 "I can't blame Loki for murder when Phil's not dead," Orion said calmly. "As for the rest, he wasn’t in his right mind. But I'll be going back to Asgard shortly. Since I'm not an 'insignificant mortal' they treat me as an Ambassador of Midgard."

 "What about Ford?"

 Orion looked at her prisoner and frowned. "He's a tricky case. I never actually tried to rehabilitate a ghost before, even if he technically isn't a ghost."

 "What happened to him?" Hannah asked timidly.

 "That's kinda complicated, and I don't really have time to get into it. Ask Phil. I really need to get moving."

 Before May could stop her, Orion dragged Ford out of the barn and disappeared into the night.

 ***

 The entire walk back to the plane, May looked perturbed, though whether because of Ford's not-ghost, Orion's sudden appearance, or equally sudden  _disappearance_ , Hannah didn't know.

 Agent Coulson and his team were waiting for them when they returned.

 "What happened?" Coulson immediately asked.

 "I set a trap for Ford. He showed. Then Orion did. She grabbed him and left."

 "Orion was there? Did she say anything? Where did she go?"

 "She said you called and Ford needed help. Then she said she needed to go and took off."

 "She also said to ask you what happened to Ford," Hannah offered tentatively.

 The younger girl, Skye spoke up then. "We think Ford caused the accident because he had a crush on you."

 "What?" she exclaimed in disbelief.

 "Accidentally. He complained about you because he wanted you to notice him," Skye explained, a little more subdued than before. "You had more service calls to his lab than anywhere else, right? We think he was purposely loosening bolts so he'd have a reason to see him."

 "That's –  _insane_. Why didn't he just ask me out or something? And why was he  _haunting_  me?"

 "Inability to let the girl go?" May suggested.

 "A really terrible attempt to protect you from being blamed for the accident," the energetic scientist, Simmons, said with a poor glare at May.

 "How was he a ghost? Orion said he wasn't really a ghost – what is – was – is? – he?"

 "The explosion opened a window to another dimension," Simmons explained.

 "Ford got  _stuck_  between our world and an alien dimension," the other scientist, Fitz, added. "Possibly exacerbated by the recent convergence."

 "The convergence caused some problems with Asgard," Coulson admitted.

 "Orion said she was going back there once she got Ford sorted out," Hannah remembered.

 "She did?" Coulson asked with a frown.

 "Something about being an ambassador because she wasn't mortal."

 "Ah, well, Orion's father came from an alien dimension," Coulson explained. "It puts her closer to Thor than to us, ability wise."

 "So that's it?" Ward asked. "Avenger ex machina and crisis averted?"

 "Orion didn't just appear out of thin air, Ward," Skye said in exasperation. "AC asked for her help, right, AC?"

 "I did. I admit I didn't expect her to be so abrupt about it, though," Coulson said with a frown.

 "Do you think she would be able to put me in touch with Dr. Foster?" Fitz asked suddenly, almost rivaling Simmons for excitement. "I’d like to get a look at her work on the Einstein-Rosen Bridge and the recent convergence. Unless she's still in Asgard?"

 May shook her head and gestured for Hannah to come with her. "Now that that's done, let's get settled for now."

 Hannah tiredly followed, relieved it was finally over.

 ***

 Coulson made a phone call as soon as he closed the door of his office.

 "What was that?"

 "Sorry," Kyria apologized. "I've been playing tag with the Choir Boys ever since I got back from Asgard and can't sit still for long – especially after a lightning show like I used with Ford."

  _The Choir Boys?_ "I thought your uncle was handling that." If angels were after her, Kyria's movements would be severely curtailed.

 "He's mostly staying out of it. If I need an ace in the hole, he's it, but I just need a few days to get used to the energy surge I got on vacation."

 And there she went trying to downplay everything. God save him from agents who didn't know when to quit. Granted that was something of a pot-kettle situation, but that didn’t change the point. "Kyria –”

 "It's fine, Phil," she said, cutting him off. "Asgard played merry hell with my equilibrium. A little time to equalize again and I'll be fine. Same thing happened with New York and the Tesseract, only on a smaller scale. The giant hole in the sky covered over the initial effects and then I slept off the rest."

 "If I find out you're underestimating the effects –”

 "You'll land the Bus on my driveway, threaten me with a pen, and lecture me on the perils on improper care. I  _know_ , Phil. I'm not Clint, taking six days for you to pry out the fact he'd gone deaf."

 "I'd use a letter opener," he countered blandly. "And if I recall, he lost his hearing dragging  _you_  away from a building counting down to explode."

 "He set the timers," she retorted. "And it doesn't change the fact that it took  _six_  days and constant badgering before he admitted he couldn't hear a thing you were saying."

 "Barton always had inadequacy issues. But that's not the point –”

 "Yes, yes, be careful around strange angels, don't take needless risks. I know the drill. I've been doing this for a long time before you came on the scene, you know."

 "You were one of mine. I protect my agents."

 "I know," she replied, a grin in her voice. "Where do you think I got it from?"

 Phil sighed. Some days he did not know how he survived being de facto handler to the three craziest, most hair-raising agents in SHIELD, one of whom had gone on to become sub-director to a whole clandestine _department_ of crazy, hair-raising people. "What's this I hear about you returning to Asgard?"

 "An idea I got from Chuck."

 "From  _Chuck?"_  Writer, prophet, and proprietor of the strangest house party known to man? How could any idea from him be worth implementing?

 “It’s the solution to the problem I was having with the implementation of Protocol Pluto.”

 “Protocol Pluto?” he repeated. There were all sorts of weird plans and contingencies and Phil made it a habit to know as much about them all as possible – mainly because he never knew when one would be needed but also because casually mentioning the odder ones tended to make the younger agents freak and/or credit the rumor that he was a protocol droid – but he didn’t think he knew that one.

 “You know, the planet that isn’t a planet anymore?”

 Ah. “New identity?”

 “A bit more substantial than that. I’m a whole second person.”

 “And you weren’t already?”

 “Technically?” she offered. “I mean, my job was divided into two separate parts that I was under Director’s orders not to let mix as much as possible. That part should be easier now.”

 “Should be. Will it be?”

 “I certainly _hope_ so,” she exclaimed with a hint of desperation. “There’s a real live person unofficially on Ninja duty, instead of just me, being a Ninja and an Avenger and hoping really, really, hard that no one noticed the first part.”

 "Kyria –”

 "I’m a _superhero_ , Phil. Aliens were bad enough, but if anyone finds out that the _daughter of the devil_ is a _superhero?_ Half the world will have an apoplexy and the other half will riot. So Orion will take a step back and I’ll try to keep the Ninja cat in its bag.”

 “Ninja cat,” he said slowly because it bore repeating.

 Kyria was silent for a minute. “It sounds impossible when I use that metaphor, doesn’t it?” she said in a small, pained voice.

 “Yes.”

 Her sigh was tired. “All the more reason to sideline Orion before anyone tries to pin her down. Nick can only do so much and I refuse to risk compromising the Ninjas because someone wanted to know what the Avengers do when they’re not fighting aliens in the streets of New York.”

 “You’ve survived more than a year of new-found celebrity-dom,” Phil felt compelled to point out.

 “Because were still trying to get over the whole ‘aliens invaded New York’ thing to look too closely. But it’s not a secret within the agency that Kyria Lux is Orion. Eventually _someone_ will want to know where she is and what she’s doing. So she’ll be on Asgard. Thor agreed. So did Fury.”

 "And if something else happens that requires your assistance?" It wasn't a  _bad_  idea, he just didn't like the thought of Kyria being out of contact. When she was needed, she was needed  _now_. But if Fury agreed – well, the Director _was_ serious about keeping the supernatural elements hidden.

 "I've got a new phone," she answered flippantly. "Ever watch Doctor Who?"

 "I get enough science fiction from my day job."

 She laughed. "True enough. But the Doctor fixed one of his companions' phones so that she had service everywhere. It's not quite the same, but the principle applies. Jane called her mom from the palace. If I’m needed, I’m reachable. But it's not like I'm  _actually_  going to be on Asgard."

 "No, you'll just be using a ploy you took from a writer who very nearly breached SHIELD security."

 "That was never his intention."

 "That doesn't make it okay." There was a well-defined reason _why_ Director Fury was so adamant no one learn about the sort of things the Ninjas handled that it wasn’t even on the index. Mr. Shurley had no ill-intentions and was more than adequately protected, but there were others out there.

 "I  _handled_  it, Phil. And Gabriel freaked Fury out far more than Chuck ever could."

 "Point," he admitted with a grimace. Chuck was human; Gabriel . . .  wasn’t. And was therefore more difficult to defend against. But that was why there were Ninjas. Not that all of them were human either. "Think you can do anything for Ford?"

 "Please. Alien Energy Expert, remember? Some time to ground him to this dimension, some therapy, and he'll be almost as good as new. A little worn around the edges, but neither crazy nor homicidal. I should probably arrange some help for his girlfriend, too."

 Good idea. Ms. Hutchins was having a rather hard time coping with the situation. That didn’t just go away because the situation did. "Andy, or Eleanor?"

 "Mmm, probably Eleanor. From what I saw, she looked like she'd respond more to mothering. Besides, I thought I’d hand Ford off to Andy."

 "You're probably right," he agreed.

 "When it comes to my Ninjas, I usually am."

 Phil shook his head. "Have fun in Asgard."

 She snorted. "Fun. That's the word. They respect me, but I freak them the fuck out, and they’re not shy about showing it."

 “You are more than capable of freaking most people ‘the fuck out,’ Agent Lux,” he replied primly.

 Kyria laughed. “I suppose that is true,” she admitted. “But keep in mind, next time you see me, chances are I’m not going to be Agent Lux.”

 “And who is Madame Pluto?”

 “Dawn Morrow. With Lux off-world, she’s stepping into a good deal of her troubleshooter authority. Which gives Morrow a convenient excuse to go underground when people start poking around why you’re alive.”

 “Morrow was part of my surgical team?”

 “Alleged surgical team, but yeah.”

 “You are the reason I survived,” Phil agreed. He hesitated, then asked, “What do you know about what happened after the Helicarrier?”

 “Just some bullshit about Tahiti,” she said sourly.

 “It’s a magical place.”

 “You don’t know what to _do_ with a vacation, Phil. Every time I’ve ever seen you on mandated medical leave, you spend your days reading other people’s reports and writing up memos on what they could do better.”

 “That’s not – “

 “Watching _Supernanny_ while Stark drools on the floor doesn’t count as vacation either.”

 Well, yes, and he never had gotten to do it anyway, but, “Tasing Stark would do wonders for my mental health.”

 The phone captured a noise that sounded like a muffled snicker. “Nat got to stab him.”

 Phil still didn’t know whether to be proud or jealous of that. “She was very pleased about that.”

 “Still is,” she reminded him.

 True, but he hadn’t have much contact with his former assets since his near-death, Orion’s recent cameo notwithstanding.

 "Fitz would appreciate if you put in a good word for him with Foster."

 "A good, old-fashioned science-crush," Kyria said with amusement. "Easy enough. I may have accidentally set her on a collision course with the Science of Angels, but if I leave a message with Darcy, she’ll get it when she comes up for Pop-Tarts. Try not to let him explode the Bus in his excitement."

 Great. Now he had an image in his head of Dr. Foster holding a Pop-Tart in one hand and training a microscope on an undefined figure with white wings sprouting out of a three-piece suit, while FitzSimmons looked on and babbled so excitedly the plane exploded around them.

 Phil massaged his temples. It seemed insanity was contagious.


End file.
